


Easier to Drown

by stillskies



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-10
Updated: 2011-11-10
Packaged: 2017-10-25 22:17:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/275429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillskies/pseuds/stillskies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They never ask each other the impossible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Easier to Drown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chaineddove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaineddove/gifts).



They never ask each other the impossible.

He knows that she will never abdicate the crown, not after she’s spent so much of her life fighting for it. Dalmasca is as much a part of her as her sword – to give up the kingdom she fought to reclaim would be no less difficult for her than laying down her sword for good.

So he invites her on trivial missions, always careful of the timing and the weight of potential consequence. While he knows she would be content with a hero’s death, he finds that he cannot bear to separate the queen from her people again. The grieving for their lost princess has finally subsided after all of these years, and she is finally beginning to breathe again, to find her own footing alone. He refuses to jeopardize her balance, her determination to begin anew – without Rassler, without Basch, with only a slew of advisors that are far more suited to simpering and currying favor than advising a ruler on affairs of state.

She would never ask for him to forfeit the life that he has built for himself. She knows precious little of his past – a name, a job, a father – and she understands the importance of starting over from nothing after having everything. He seems more alive in the sky than he does on land, watching as the clouds part for the Strahl while the entire world sails by below his feet. He never speaks about his life before, and she knows that he does not believe what he had before was truly a life.

That does not stop her from inviting him to state affairs. She is always very careful of her phrasing, never making it more than a simple invitation that he can accept or decline at his leisure. She does not want him to feel as though she is leading him – he will never return to what he once was, and what he is isn’t suited for the queen of Dalmasca, despite what she, herself, desires. So she leaves carefully embossed invitations with Penelo, who always seems to get them to him in time, and waits for a response.

As time passes, the impossible begins to blur – the adventures riskier, the invitations firmer – until they arrive at a stalemate that they quietly decide to ignore. What was once impossible now seems possible, but neither wants to ask the other to give up a life that defines who they are.

So they continue to dance, and pray the other finally gives.


End file.
